Well, aussie life is coming to a close. We are home on Dec. 30th and are going to just enjoy the next 12 days of Christmas. It is a little different down under, not quite as commercialized as home. No snow, not many stores playing carols and only some decorations. People are more focused on the fact that is it summer holidays!! So here's to you all, think of us on Christmas day as I will be frolicking in the ocean for one last time!!

What an amazing concert hall and of course where I feel at home. Oberon had an Awards Night which featured many musical numbers. We performed Lift Every Voice and Sing which was written during the times of strife for the African Americans in the south. We got all dolled up and had a wonderful evening.

Two shots of the infamous AYERS ROCK, though no one calls it that in Central Australia. The Anangu people are the traditional owners of ULURU, the land was officially given back to them by the government in 1985 and the aboriginals asked for help to turn it into a place that people could come to and learn about their cuture. This rock, which stands out from the landscape, is 90 storeys high (348 metres). We walked the base (9 km) as the summit was closed due to winds. They have had deaths due to people climbing it during poor conditions, so it is not open to climb very often. The rock surface gets to 65 degrees celcius! Ouch. As you travel the base, there are many sacred places that you cannot photograph, which show you the places where the aborigianal women had and raised their babies (southside) and where the aboriginal men did their training (northside). Hard to believe that 2/3 of this rock is actually still underground.

Pictured above is the OLGAS, known to the aboriginals as KATA TJUTA (meaning many heads). The size and grandeur of the 36 massive domes was very impressive. These ancient, weather-beaten mountains, covering an area of 3500 hectares, are far larger and just as imposing as ULURU. The most unique thing is that if you look closely at the picture, you can see the outline of Homer Simpson lying down. DOH!!

I celebrated my 36th birthday by going on a sleeping safari at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. It was the wildest experience to wake up to the sound of lions roaring. Especially being in Australia. This zoo has animals from Africa including; giraffes, cheetahs (see below), rhinos, meerkats, lions, zebras, vervet monkeys and hippos! We saw Harry the hippo at feeding time and he decided to spray feces from his butt while swinging his tail, boy did we run for cover!

This is Haraka - the 13 year old cheetah who lives in the zoo. That makes him 91 years old in human time! Though a bit cranky in his old age and trouble with his teeth, he was able to chow down on this rabbit like it was nothing! Cheetahs can travel up to 112 km/h, so when driving down the high way, they would pass you! They are a solitary animal which means they only get together with another cheetah to mate, besides that they are on their own.

This is Anthony from the Werribee Open Range Zoo. In Africa, he lived with all females and so does not know how to 'live' with males. Therefore, he does not know how to fight, and the other males take advantage of this. He has a horrible odour, a skin disease, and is allergic to his food. Poor Anthony, so troubled yet so adorably cute!! Interestingly enough, giraffes only sleep for 20-25 minutes a day while they are standing up. Add this fact to their very long tongue that they can put up their nose - and I believe I was a giraffe in a former life.

GrandvEWE cheesery, Tasmania's only sheep cheesery! We met "The Girls" (as the sheep are fondly known), tasted many different cheese and wines while we viewed the whole process of cheese making and maturing. They had an amazing deck, where we got to sit out and enjoy the landscape. Those babies are the sweetest!

This is the Cascade Brewery, established in 1824 by a man called De Graves. It was initially a mill, but they saw more possibilties with beer. Mount Wellington is just off the picture to the left, and that is where they did, and still do today, get the clear spring water. DeGraves actually left London due to the fact that he owed a lot of money, the authorities eventually caught up with him and he served 9 years in jail or as they say here gaol. His buddy meanwhile did all the work setting the factory up and by the time DeGraves was released he was a rich man.

This is a picture of Louisa and William. They took us on an interactive tour of the Cascades Female Factory. In 1828, Tasmania realized that they had far too many males on the island so they set about sending female convicts from London to serve their sentence there. Louisa stole a loaf of bread and was sentenced to 7 years, leaving behind her 3 children (14, 11, 7 - the magistrate thought the 14 year old could care for them). At the prison, people like Louisa were assigned as servants in the community to do the "Women's work" for the men. Then if the men or masters decided to have their way with them and they became pregnant, they were sent back to prison. After having their babies, they were given two weeks to wean them and then were put in solitary confinement as punishment. 3 out of 4 babies died and we were told that 1200 babies were buried there during the run of the prison. This tour definitely made an impact on me.

Thought I would throw these pics on the blog. Caused quite the stir on facebook because I look like two different people apparently! As the aussie saying goes "No Worries", it is nothing permanent, just the magic of a flat iron!

Keeping that Canadian pride alive down under! We're into spring here (sept. 1st) and had a beautiful day of 22 degrees. Walks on the beach happen whenever we are able and we cannot get our fill of the waves. With only 4 months to go, we know that we shall miss the majestic sights and sounds of the ocean. Meanwhile, we are going to enjoy every last minute!!!!

Went to WICKED in Melbourne, August 23rd, and wicked it was! What a fabulous show. The Regent Theatre itself was worth the price of admission. The way the script intertwined with the Wizard of Oz was brilliantly written. I was Dorothy in high school and this "other side of the story" was a kick! Tim even rated it a 9 out of 10, perhaps due to the flying monkeys! If you get a chance, please GO!!!

Ah Sydney, what a city. There is 960 km of shoreline and we saw every bit of it from atop the Harbour Bridge. The climb was a little freaky, but absolutely worth it. It cost 9 million dollars to get the climbing tours together and has been operating since 1998. The bridge itself has been around for decades and only 16 men died while building it. (If you fall off, it's so high that the water will not displace you, but act as cement. We went to a show at the Opera House and took a cruise to see all the harbours. We were essentially the token tourists.

On lifestyles of the rich and famous, we have Mr. & Mrs. Radwanski boarding a helicopter to fly out to the Great Barrier Reef. From 500 feet in the air they were able to observe the ocean and all of its' inhabitants. Remarkable views of this unexplored frontier.

This is Norman Reef, part of 2500 coral reefs which make up the Great Barrier Reef. We went snorkelling here and observed some of the 400 species of coral and 2000 species of fish. Coral reefs have been present on Earth for over 240 million years. The seawater temperatures range from 18-33 degrees Celcius. The day we went the ocean was about 25 degrees. This platform is right out in the middle of the ocean. You go out for the day and eat, sun bathe and snorkel! What an amazing experience.

What about Mrs. Rad as Harley Davidson biker? We met Dave at a Celtic Festival and he toured us around in the side car of his Harley. I wore a helmet (of course) but took it off for the picture. Dave plans to go to North America and tour around there for a year, not a bad life!

Ah the amazing Cockatoos! Don't laugh, that is their name! They are the white, parot-like birds with a yellow fringe on top. Now while you may think, what a lovely bird, you should hear the racket that they make!!! Australians are not fond of them and if there are a collection of them (like in the picture) outside your house, no sleep for you. Think of the sound the crow makes and double it for noise and consistency. That is one Cockatoo! See how many are in the picture? We are talking rock concert loud here!

Last weekend, we took a plane and flew over the Twelve Apostles. They are spectucular rock stacks that rise up to 70 metres from the ocean. These amazing formations are remnants from constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that began 10-20 million years ago. Stormy ocean waves and winds gradually eroded the cliffs creating these arches. They are still eroding and some 15 years ago, people had walked out to view them on connected land like the one in front. Suddenly, the rock gave way in the middle, stranding the people out on a stack. No one was injured, but the people had to be rescued via helicopters. So we viewed them from a safe distance - in the sky!

Getting up close and personal with the kangas here. At the top is Roxy, I met her on Kangaroo Island. Her mum was killed by a car and so she is being raised by humans. That is why I was able to pet her. On the bottom, I am golfing on a course where the kangaroos live. They do not let you get too close, but they do not mind when you hit little whit balls in their direction.

Now you may think that this is just a beautiful shot of the scenery in New Zealand, however, there is more to it than meets the eye. This was actually the location for the Lord of the Rings movie. For those of you who are true fans, the land was used for the Pelennor Battlefield. The largest ever day of filming in the trilogy with over 1500 actors and crew involved.

These are Hector's dolphins or the world's smallest dolphin. Just 15 minutes from the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand, is the beautiful Lyttelton Harbour. We went on a two our wildlfe cruise, where besides seeing tons of dolphins, we saw a former whaling station, volcanic sea cliffs, and a Greenpeace boat and their headquarters. We missed the excitement, however, as the next day there was a fight between Greenpeace and a whaling ship right in the harbour. Do some research to find out about the Greenpeace cause.

The great white shark and the mantaray. Would you believe that I saw these fellows while deep sea diving? Or perhaps I was at the Melbourne aquarium?? Either way the sea creatures are absolutely stunnning and in most cases, absolutely poisonous. I learned the difference between poisonous and venomous. A creature is poisonous when you die if you eat him. A creature is venomous if it can put venom into you. It helps to remember that the vast ocean is the only place on planet Earth that has not been fully explored. I wonder what other creatures exist out there??

Though I may be being silly here, we visited the Old Geelong Gaol (pronounced jail). It was open until 1991, when it was closed because the facilities were nothing short of appalling. The housing was inhumane and prisoners lived in absolute squalor. The cells were absolutely disgusting and the outdoor shower was humiliating. This prison was/is located in the middle of the city, so the brick walls and barbed wire were used to stop escapes. They keep this as a tourist attraction to remind them that all human beings need to be treated as human, no matter their crimes against society.

Mom and Dad have safely arrived in Australia! They stopped in Tahiti for 5 days and stayed in a thatched roof hut right on the water! Above is a picture of my dad flying in a tiger moth airplane, created in the 1930s. The seats are not enclosed so you have to wear head gear and goggles. He flew at 2000 feet doing aerobotics, 360 degree flips and dives that would turn my stomach. His trip took him over the ocean where he sawJan Juc from the air. Perhaps Mr. Rad and I will sky dive for our 10th anniversary in July. What do you think??

This shot was taken half a block from where we live, isn't it breathtaking? This is their harvest moon, as we are now moving into Autumn here. The tides of the ocean are created because the Earth and the Moon are attracted to each other like magnets. The Moon tries to pull anything on the Earth closer. The Earth is able to hold onto everything but the water. Each day there are two high tides and two low tides moving back and forth. (high, low, high,low,etc) There is 12 hours and 25 minutes between the two high tides. The strongest tides are during the full moon and the new moon, so the picture above has a very strong tide.

Well, I am officially a surfer! Though this picture looks like a fake backdrop, I have witnesses!! I also have a new found respect for all surfers, they make it look so easy. You actually take a beating from the waves and swallow a lot of salty water. It is all about timing and balance and trying again and again and again. I may have to invest in a wet suit though, as when the waves toss you off your board, you are lucky to come up with your bathing suit still on!!

Here is me doing "The Big Swing" at camp. Oberon High School has many excursions, where the students go away for 3 days or so and do activites such as biking, hiking, canoeing, climbing or "The Big Swing". On this camp, I was with about 100 Year 7 (grade 7) students. I was hoisted about 80 feet in the air (by ny students) and then released. I fell straight down and then started swinging back and forth like a pendulum. I will not lie, I almost tossed my cookies, but I am here to try everything once and experience all that I can - whether it scares me speechless or not!

This little fellow was on our deck this weekend. I named him Freddy. Though I could not capture his tongue, he is known as the blue-tongued lizard. Harmless, in fact, if you are brave enough, he will actually lick your hand as he smells through his tongue and licks things to know what they are. Now, do you think that I was brave enough??

This is us at Airey's Inlet and in front of the Split Point Lighthouse. It is the most elegant lighthouse on the Australian coastline. Built in 1891, and towering 110 feet, it was quite the chore to get to the top, but we did it! (huffing an puffing) The unattended light still emits 4 flashes of light on a 20 second cycle, visible for 30kms at sea. The view from up top is breath taking, to say the least! You need to understand the importance of lighthouses, since there have been many boat wrecks along the shoreline, back when they were run by humans. If you go scuba diving, you can see the remains of the ship.

Here we have The Great Ocean Road. We live basically at the base of this road that winds along the coast line. If you are prone to car sickness like me, this is a tricky drive. But if you can stomach it, you can see sights like Angelsea, where the kangaroos hang out on the local golf course. You can stop at Lorne, the number one Victoria vacation hot spot. Erskine falls is also along this trek and if you hike down to the falls you are in the middle of a rainforest, what a veratile country! Of course the 12 apostles are also down this road about 3 hours, however, this time we did not go that far. We did stop to play with the waves, they are mightily powerful! I also took this shot of a decapod. It was for sale at the local fish shop, but it did come out of the ocean that morning. Goes to show you once again, the wonders of this place!

Now since I showed you the"flat" part, I had to show you the ocean. This is one of 18 million fantastic views we have. This is Jan Juc beach and a hot spot for surfers. There were a ton out performing that we could watch, but it was hard to capture a picture of them. If you have seen an 80s film called "Point Break", when the good guy (Keanu Reeves) catches the bad surfer dude (Patrick Swayze) at the end of the movie, they are at Bell's Beach, which is one over from this one. We have not been on a surf board yet, perhaps due to the fact that when we talked to some surfers after taking this picture, they had seen a shark! A couple of beaches further along the coast was evacutated theother day due to multiple shark sightings!!!

The picture on the right makes me think of the song that I teach "I Hope You Dance". There is a line in it that goes "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean....." It is so omnious, yet at the same time completely peaceful. I know we have only been here 12 days, but I swear I will never get tired of walks along the beach in the evenings!

Here is a shot that may have you thinking. "Gee that could be Saskatchewan!". Except for the fact that the ocean is less than 3 km from this spot. Australia is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all inhabited continents. The only place worse is Antarctica. 80% and the plants and animals here exist nowhere else in the world. The reason people joke of this country being "down under" is because their seasons and constellations are backwards from ours. They have creatures that bounce, fish that climb treees and crustacean shells that are so big a man can climb inside. So you can see that there is so much to see and learn here. It was worth the 34 hours travel time (20 hours flying time) and losing January 1st (seriously that day did not exist for us) to get here!

Mr. and Mrs. Radwanski on the beach in Geelong, this is where we will teach, but we are still on summer holidays until January 29th. Temperatures are around 30 to 40 degrees Celcius. Geelong has harbour and was a port of much trading when Australia was first being formed. Australia Day is July 26th, this is the day that they celebrate Captain Phillip started a city in 1788 with 1500 people aboard his ship. However, around 700 of those people were convicts and had been sentenced to go prison. Some had only stolen a loaf of bread to feed their family. Captain Cook is said to have discovered Australia, but he went back to Britain and told them of a lush and wonderful country. When Captain Philip arrived, it was barren and dry. Those are the two seasons of Australia, winter, lush and wet, summer, barren and dry. Australia is the only nation in the world that started as a prison. 10 of the world's most poisonous snakes live here and 5 of the most lethal creatures in the world; funnel web spider, box jelly fish, blue ringed octopus, paralysis tick and the stonefish!!